An embarrassing block in North shore home
“Drake, we need to do something about the drain. Yesterday, it was the shower drain in the basement that was backing up when I washed clothes. Today, even a bath seems to be causing a problem.” Juanita was worried. They had moved into the house only a month ago. Up until now, there had been no problems. But, suddenly – and apparently for no reason – there were signs of water blockage.
The home was a fairly large one. They had two big bathrooms, one on each floor and a fairly large kitchen too. The main line that went out from the house to join the sewer had to run the entire length of the garden. Dave knew that if there was a block somewhere in there, it would not be an easy job to detect.
Before the blocked drain got worse, they decided to tackle it themselves. First, they used the plunger. Nothing happened. Then, they dumped a whole packet of drain cleaning liquid into the drains. The next morning, bucketfuls of hot water scalded a path into the blocked sewer. But, that did not seem to do the trick either.
Dave decided to attack the drain with a snake. He was not very good at this but he decided that it was worth a try. At least he would have the satisfaction that he had tried his best.
The snake went in easily and got stuck halfway on the blockage. Dave tugged and pulled – to no avail. The darn thing refused to come out. Now, he was in a spot. He could not have the snake sticking out of an open drain from the house.
He knew what he had to do. He had the number of an expert plumber from North shore. They came highly recommended by the real estate agent. Since Dave did not know of any other plumber in the area, he had no choice really.
The North shore plumber responded with warmth and sympathy. Dave took a liking to him instantly. The man promised to come down in the next two hours. That seemed like decent service to Dave.
The plumber came and checked the drain blockage. “You seem to be on the right track, Mr. Templeton. I guess if the snake had not got stuck, you would have done a great job yourself”. So saying, he got to work.
It took some effort, but, finally the snake came loose. When the plumber took the snake out, Dave turned beet red. So did his wife. At the end of the snake were at least half a dozen bloated tampons.
“Gosh, we just moved in a month back and we don’t use this stuff. Must be the previous owner’s,” Dave explained and even though it was the truth, it sounded lame even to his own ears.
The plumber fished out at least another half a dozen tampons. He then checked the drain with a camera.
“Seems like we’re all clear now. You see, the problem with these things is that they bloat with water once they are inside. Sad thing that whoever put it in there didn’t realize that. It’s worse in this house because the outside line is so long and needs to cover so much distance to reach the sewer.”
Well, at least this problem was not going to happen again, not in their house, Dave knew.
Plumbing problems anywhere in the North shore of Sydney, including Chatswood, North Syndey, Lower North Shore, turramurra, Crows Nest and Pymble. Call us on 0412 154 064